Football Banning Orders: Analysing Their Use in Court

Abstract

In the months prior to the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, the government funded a number of targeted policing operations aimed at securing Football Banning Orders against known or suspected football hooligans. This article is based on court observations and associated interviews carried out in early 2006 in and around Manchester. It evaluates the application process, the legal tests applied and the quality of the evidence relied on by courts when determining whether the imposition of a Football Banning Order is necessary to prevent future football-related disorder being committed by the respondent. In particular, the analysis focuses on whether the use of a civil procedure can continue to be justified in the light of the punitive length of and conditions attached to these Orders, whether the correct standard of proof is being applied by the court at all stages of the application and whether policing tactics are focused too narrowly on the securing of Football Banning Orders.